


Puppy Love

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [21]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day One - All Human, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 14:19:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6523597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: KC: Your dog likes me a thousand times better than she likes your partner and sorry not sorry I love this dog</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puppy Love

"Aww," Caroline cooed as the golden retriever butted its nose into her knees. "Who's this handsome guy?"

"Excuse me," Cami asked, uncomfortably looking between her boyfriend and the strange blonde. She was normally all for meeting people at the street fairs she dragged Klaus to, but they had just gotten into a huge fight. She was feeling a little on edge, especially with the way Klaus's eyes tracked the other woman's blouse as it slid up her back when she crouched to play with the dog.

"Your dog," Caroline clarified, giggling as the dog started to lick her hands. "He's gorgeous."

"Oh," she replied, still stiff with tension as the stranger continued her play. "This is Hope, she's actually my boyfriend's dog."

"She's friendly," Caroline said, looking up at the boyfriend. "How old is she?"

"About two," he answered, the British accent taking Caroline by surprise.

Smiling, Caroline looked back down to ruffle Hope's ears. The dog seemed to love the attention. "There are some great shelters in the city," she said, "but my apartment doesn't allow pets. I hope you don't mind me blatantly interrupting your date for some puppy love." Not that any answer to the contrary would stop her; Caroline was in dire need of a dog's unconditional love.

"Not a problem, love," he answered just as Cami said, "Actually, we need to go."

Sensing the tension, Caroline froze and awkwardly stood up. Pasting a bright smile on her face, she waved. "Thanks, I really needed that," she said, already moving away. Grinning more sincerely at the dog, Caroline winked. "Bye, Hope, it was nice to meet you!"

The dog chuffed, and Caroline quickly turned on her heel before the other blonde could lay into her boyfriend like she clearly wanted to.

"Would you like to follow her and fulfill whatever creepy Freudian mommy issues you're transferring from Esther and Rebekah to apparently any blonde now," Cami asked in a venomous whisper.

Rolling his eyes, Klaus turned to his irate girlfriend. She often tried to blame his undiagnosed psychological shortcomings for everything wrong in their relationship, and frankly, he was tired of the unwanted therapy sessions. "At least she would actually like Hope," he pointed out as his dog still watched the friendly blonde mixing with the crowd. "You treat her like a redheaded step-child."

"If that's a reference to your relationship with Mikael," Cami started, but Klaus shook his head, exasperated.

"Not everything is a reference," he snapped. "Sometimes, I use phrases because they fit the situation best, and not because I'm roiling with unresolved psychological dissonance. Why must you over-analyze every detail of my life?"

"Our life," Cami corrected, annoyed.

Shrugging helplessly, Klaus moved away. "My life," he reiterated. "I've been feeling it for a while, but I don't think we should see each other anymore. I'll send Rebekah over with your stuff, if you could pack up whatever I might have at your place."

Cami sputtered in shock. "All this because of your dog," she asked incredulously.

"No," Klaus clarified, knowing this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. "But feel free to blame my father, it seems to be what I always do."

Feeling unexpectedly lighter, Klaus turned and let Hope take the lead on maneuvering through the street fair. He always thought breakups were supposed to be more heart-wrenching, but he just felt free. Too free, apparently, since Hope was able to take off running and Klaus was too distracted to keep ahold of her leash. "Hope!"

Desperately following the dog through the crowd, Klaus was breathing hard by the time he caught up with her. Of course, she had found the blonde woman from earlier, and was getting lovely pats while he fought to get air into his lungs. He was relieved to see the woman had a firm hold on Hope's leash. "Thanks for catching her," he huffed out, still trying to catch his breath. "She just took off."

"My pleasure," the woman answered, looking up with a bright smile. "I'll admit, I was pretty tempted to outright defy my landlord and just take Hope home with me."

He was tempted to offer himself instead, but considering she thought he still had a girlfriend, Klaus figured it wouldn't be prudent. "I'm sure she'd like that," he said instead. "I'd be willing to let you visit her, if you really need some puppy love that badly."

She laughed, sinking her fingers in Hope's fur. "Something tells me your girlfriend wouldn't appreciate that," she said, raising her eyebrows meaningfully. "But I work at the old bookstore a couple of blocks over. If you and Hope are around, you should stop in. I'd love to see her."

Klaus smirked. "And who should I ask for when we do?"

Her eyes widened a bit at his confident use of "when." "I'm too smart to be seduced by taken guys, Klaus," she said, surprising him with his name. "I checked Hope's tag when she found me," she explained. "Your girlfriend wasn't kidding when she said Hope was your dog."

"She's also not my girlfriend anymore," Klaus said, surprising her even more.

Still processing that information, Caroline had to admit, "That's not very promising information, if you really are trying to flirt with me."

"Maybe not," Klaus answered with a shrug, "but it's the truth. Call it bad timing, but I like you."

"I like Hope," Caroline clarified, the dog having settled her head in Caroline's lap. "You, I'm not so sure about."

Taking Hope's leash, Klaus smiled. "Just take a chance," he said earnestly. "I might surprise you."

Biting her lip, Caroline glanced to Hope before meeting his eyes again. "Fine," she said. "Ask for Caroline when you get to the bookstore."

"Caroline," Klaus said, more to himself than her. "I will."

Just as he turned to head home, though, he heard her call out. "Don't forget to bring Hope!"


End file.
